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"(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

GAR. ELLIOTT. STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

No. 378,499. Patented Feb. 28, 1888.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. R. ELLIOTT. STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

Patented Feb. 28, 1888.

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Unnrnn STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

GILBERT RUGGLES ELLIOTT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO'R TO THECONTINENTAL CASH OAR COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

STORE=SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,499, dated February28, 1888. Application filed October 1, 1883. Serial No. 107,846. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT RUGG-LES EL- LIOTT, of Boston, in the countyof Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulStore-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part hereof.

In my Letters Patent No. 279,862, June 19, 1883, and No. 283,088, August14,1883,I have described two storeservice apparatus, in both of whichwires are used as tracks upon which travel carriers, and in one of thesesystems the wires are horizontal, practically, while in the other thewire is inclined, so that in the first the carrier requires a push tomake it travel over the wire, while in the other the incline of the wiremakes the push optional.

My present invention relates to apparatus of this class; and itconsists,generally,in the construction, with the track and its carrier,of a spring capable of being put under tension and released to give thecarrier an impulse to cause it to travel over its track, ahook forengaging the carrier, and a releasing device for releasing the carrierwhen the impelling-spring has been sufficiently compressed.

One practical advantage of my present invention is that the wire may beput up with both ends fixed and without any care as to its beingsubstantially horizontal; or it may be purposely inclined so that thespring will throw the car when it is to be sent from the lower totheupper end of its track, while gravity alone may be relied upon tobring it back, or gravity aided by a push of the hand or the spring. Incase of a wire fixed at both ends and inclined but one spring isnecessary at the lower end of the wire; but in most cases, including notonly horizontal wires fixed at both ends, but also inclined wires fixedat both ends and wires one end of which is fixed, the other movable, tocause them to incline first in one direction and then in the oppositedirection, as well as wires in which both ends are movable vertically,it is desirable to use a spring at each end of the wire, the tension ofthe spring for throwing the carrier up the incline being of coursegreater than that of the spring for quickening the speed of the carrierwhile traveling down the incline, while the tension of each spring issubstantially equal when two are used, one at one end, the other at theother end of a wire substantially horizontal.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrate an apparatus embodyingmyinvention; and Figs. 3, 4t, 5, and 6 show the best form of device nowknown to me for giving the desired impulse to the car, and also forarresting the car as it reaches its destination, Fig. 3 being a sideelevation, Fig. L a plan, and Figs. 5 and 6 end views.

The wires A A may be put up in the store in the usual way,with each endattached to its fixed support, or with one end attached to a movablesupport and the other end attached to a fixed support, or with a movablesupport at each end.

Near one end of the wire is aspring,l3,adapted not only to act as abuffer, butalso adapted to be put under tension in such a manner thatwhen released it will propel the car over the wire. I have shown in thedrawings two springs, B, for each wire A, one at each end, as in Fig. 2,and this is desirable in all cases, as above explained. Each spring B isso arranged that it is made tense when the carrier 0 is forced againstit, and this is best effected by means of the stem 1), which bearsagainst the free end of the spring B, and also against the carrier 0.The stem bis guided by means of the wire A, and also by means of the rodN, which serves,also,as a stop to limit the outer motion of stem 12. Therod b is made an elastic stop by means of the short spring b From theabove it will be clear that when carrier 0 is forced back far enough tomake spring B tense and then released the tension of said spring B willreact upon the carrier 0 and propel it over wire A,the propelling forcedepending upon the tension of spring 13. Consequently it is desirable inpractical use that adjusting means he used, so that the tension ofspring B just before it acts to propel the carrier 0 should be adaptedto the weight of the carrier 0 and the length and also the incline ofthe wire, if the wire be inclined. To this end I use an adjustableblock, d, on rod d, by which the hook d, which takes hold of carrier 0,is connected with the retractor D. This retractor D is pulled back bymeans of the cord 61 and pulley (2* until the block dis so far depressedby contact with the abutmentF as to release hook at from carrierC,whereupon stem b is thrown forward by the spring 13, and thus thespring propels the carrier 0 over the wire A, the propelling force ofthe spring being varied as desired by block d on rod d.

The retractor D is guided by the rod (1 and the spring 62 serves toreturn the retractor and its rods to position to receive the carrieragain on its return. The rod d also serves to some extent as a guide forretractor D. The small spring 02 holds rod d in position for its hook dto seize and hold carrier 0 until the rod d is forced against spring d(to release hook at by the action of the adjustable block d. This spring(2 is supported by collarf, fastened to rod d a The abutment F is shownas clamped upon the wire A, as is also the hanger d for pulley (1*, andthis is a convenient way of arranging them, although stays or the like(not shown) are desirable to prevent them from getting out of true. Thisabutment F is provided with apertures for the reception of wire springs,8m, and also with a flaring-mouthed aperture to receive and operateblock d of the tripping mechanism, as will be obvious to all skilled inthe art.

The wire is shown in Fig. l as fastened between two fiXed supports, onesufficiently higher than the other to allow the carrier to be propelledin one directionbygravity,which may be aided by a push of the hand toquicken the motion .of the carrier. Only one spring B simply adjustingis requisite in this arrangement of my system, one of the usual stopsbeing used at the upper end of the wire to arrest the carrier when itreaches that end, as described in my patents above named. Thisarrangement of an inclined wire witha spring at its lower end adapted topropel the carriage up the incline, in combination with a retractor andan automatic releasing device, is also new with me, and is valuable onaccount of its cheapness and sin1- plicity.

The incline may of course be from the clerks desk to the cashiers desk,instead of as shown.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a store-service apparatus, thecombination, with a track, A, and a carrier mounted thereon, of springsB d, a retractor, a hook for engaging with said carrier, areleasing-block, and an abutment contacting therewith, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination, in a store-service apparatus,of the abutment F,block d, rod d, hook (Z and operating mechanism, substantially asdescribed, whereby the carrier is released and permitted to receive itsinitial impetus, as set forth.

3. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a track, a carriermounted thereon, the hook d rod (1, and collarf, having spring d,whereby the carrier is received and held in position at the end of thetrack, as described.

GILBERT RUGGLES ELLIOTT.

Witnesses:

J. E. MAYNADIER, JOHN R. Snow.

